Thinking Err0rs

Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD has a unique perspective on being a stroke victim. She had one in her mid-thirties. She recovered. What made her situation unique was her training in neuroanatomy: it put her in a unique position to analyze what was happening to her brain.

Predictably irrational is a good read. One thing that sets this book apart from others on similar topics is the source of the information. All the data, all the experiments cited here come from the work of the author and his colleagues.

The Overflowing Brain: Information Overload and the Limits of Working Memory Sexy title, important topic given we are bombarded with ever more information. Here is how it works: our working memory (the number of things we can juggle in our head at any one time) is very limited. The amount of working memory we have [...]

Through many stories, it tells us how we fool ourselves. Some of the topics well known: loss aversion, value attribution, our reluctance to speak up in a group. They are told with fresh, entertaining stories. Other topics are less often covered in the context of thinking errors.

Businesses use biological metaphors: ecosystems, survival of the fittest, etc. The latest application of biology to business is far more than a metaphor. Brain science is teaching us how we are wired to make decisions. This knowledge is only beginning to be applied to how businesses carry out their information processing and decision making. This [...]